Huge crowd sees ex-Cowboy Terrell Owens's 3 TD Allen Wranglers debut

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Brad Loper/Staff Photographer

Former NFL receiver Terrell Owens is introduced prior to the start of the Allen Wranglers in Indoor Football League game against the Wichita Wild at the Allen Events Center in Allen, Texas Saturday, February 25, 2012.

ALLEN — Terrell Owens was looking for an opportunity to show that he still rates a chance to play wide receiver in the NFL, and he got his first chance Saturday night for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League.

Wearing his trademark No. 81, the former Cowboys standout and 15-year NFL veteran didn’t embarrass any defenders with blazing speed or outstanding leaping ability. But he did show he can still create some space and make catches in traffic, hauling in three passes for 53 yards and three touchdowns in the Wranglers’ 50-30 season-opening victory over the Wichita Wild at the Allen Events Center.

“I think I did all right,” Owens said. “I’m just really trying to keep myself in shape for the most part. I feel like I’m healthy enough to play football. There’s not anything that I can’t do.”

The 38-year-old was on the field for 38 plays and was targeted five times in front of a crowd of 5,711. According to Wranglers owner Jon Frankel, the crowd was larger than the total home attendance for the 2011 season.

It wasn’t all positive for Owens. The low point came late in the third quarter when a catchable ball along the sideline bounced off his waiting hands and into the arms of a defender.

Owens, who hasn’t caught a pass in an NFL game since Dec. 12, 2010, said earlier this month that he wanted to show NFL teams that he deserves at least a tryout, which is why he possesses an opt-out clause, in case an NFL franchise offers him a contract.

However, after having a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee repaired last year, he hasn’t received much interest from NFL teams.

Playing eight-on-eight football on a 50-yard field was the next step in showing everyone that his knee has healed.

“Even when I worked out back in October, I was six, seven months out from surgery and was doing pretty much every route in the route tree,” Owens said. “I’m not worried about it.”

The Wild threw some press and straight up man-to-man coverage at Owens, who didn’t make a grab in the first, third or fourth quarters.

Despite playing in a league where receivers routinely line up 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, getting a running start before the ball is snapped, Owens, who lined up in that manner on two occasions, never blew past the defense.

The six-time Pro Bowler scored his three second-quarter touchdowns by beating a cornerback to the inside from 10 yards out, getting slightly behind single coverage along the sideline for 27 more yards and wrestling a pass away from a defender and scurrying in from 16 yards away.

Playing on a smaller field was one of the biggest adjustments for Owens. On the first offensive series a defender was hanging onto Owens’ jersey, something the 6-3, 224-pounder said he could exploit on an NFL field.

“If we’re outdoors, he throws that ball way downfield, I run away from the guy,” Owens said. “We’re indoors so the ball can’t be thrown too far down the field. Those are some of the things that you have to adjust to.”

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